Astronaut to return to earth earlier than expected

Wednesday

May 2, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 2, 2007 at 2:16 AM

Needham's own astronaut, Sunita Williams, is set to return to Earth next month after NASA announced plans last week to bring her home from the International Space Station almost two months earlier than expected.

Steven Ryan

Williams is set to return to Earth next month after NASA announced plans last week to bring her home from the International Space Station almost two months earlier than expected.

“I’m just delighted that she’s coming home sooner rather than later,” said Bonnie Pandya, Williams’ mother.

NASA usually doesn’t want their astronauts to stay in space for more than six months due to the effects of weightlessness on bone and muscle density.

“I’m happy they’re looking out her for health and well-being,” said Dina Pandya, Williams’ sister.

NASA had been planning to bring Williams home in mid-August aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, which was initially set to lift off in June before being damaged in a Florida hailstorm, delaying the flight by two months.

Williams will now be coming home aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, which is set to lift off on an 11-day space station assembly mission on June 8. That shuttle mission will carry her replacement, astronaut Clay Anderson.

Both Bonnie and Dina Pandya said they will meet Williams in Houston — her current home — at a welcome home party two days after the landing.

“We’ll have pistachio ice cream with chocolate sauce, Sam Adams Light and a big pizza for her,” Dina Pandya said, adding that Williams said she missed those Earthly delicacies.

She said they will bring Williams’ dog, Gorby, whom Williams’ parents, who live in Falmouth, have been caring for while she’s been in space.

“Of course, she’ll be excited to see her little dog,” Dina Pandya said. “We have to get him ready. He might have to lose some weight to get on the plane. She said to bring him down as soon as we can.”

During her stay on the space station, Williams set the women’s spacewalking record by going on four spacewalks for a total of 29 hours and 17 minutes. Upon Williams' return, she will have accumulated more time in space than any other woman.

If she had stayed aboard the state station until August, Williams would have broken the 215-day American endurance record for both men and women. Williams’ space station colleague, Mike Lopez-Alegria, recently set the mark before returning home on Saturday, April 21, according to NASA.

The world record is held by Russian Valeri Polyakov, who spent 438 days aboard the space station Mir from 1994 to 1995.